It's Not Over Yet
by autumn midnights
Summary: Sequel to 'The Next Trio', but can be read on its own. It looks like this isn't over, as Lily, Rose, and Scorpius have to deal with even more twists and turns to this mystery they thought was completely solved.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: This is a sequel to another multi-chapter fanfiction of mine, _The Next Trio. _This can be read on its own, as this first chapter will be explaining the major events that occurred in TNT. This story takes place in Lily Luna Potter's fourth year, and she is best friends with sixth years Scorpius and Rose.

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_THEODORE REMUS LUPIN ESCAPES, _read the headline of the Daily Prophet. Lily Luna glanced at Scorpius, who was sitting next to her at the Slytherin table. He had the same look of shock on his face that she did. "I thought they had him under tight security," she said angrily.

"Try actually reading the article," Scorpius suggested, not shocked enough for his dry wit to disappear. "It might explain things."

Lily rolled her eyes at him but turned her attention back to the newspaper. She was sure Rose, who was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, was probably too busy reading a book to even notice. She was pretty sure Rose didn't bother to get the Prophet, as the older girl had little interest for news. It was almost always Lily - and occasionally Scorpius, who often read along with her - who kept Rose up-to-date on important things. This was certainly important. She read the rest of the article, for once not skimming through the bits she already knew.

_Yesterday, at around 7:00 in the evening, 24-year-old Theodore "Teddy" Remus Lupin escaped from the cell he was being held in at the Ministry of Magic. Reportedly, he only had one guard watching him, and when this guard drew too close to the bars of the cell, Lupin managed to knock him out. Lupin was then able to grab the guard's wand through the bars of the cell, which are three inches apart from each other, and unlock the cell door. He is a Metamorphmagus, which enables him to change his appearance at will. This is no doubt why he wasn't caught, and was most likely able to walk right out of the Ministry. _

_Lupin was arrested for crimes he had committed at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He attempted to kill two students, 13-year-old Sara Creevey and 14-year-old Daisy Zabini, before performing the Cruciatus Curse multiple times on 17-year old Roxanne Weasley. He also would have killed Lily Potter, 14, and Scorpius Malfoy, 16, were he not caught with them in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts by nearly the whole staff of the school. His motive, apparently, was revenge - his parents (Nymphadora and Remus Lupin) were killed in the Battle of Hogwarts. He wanted the people who had survived that battle to suffer by having people they loved - their children - taken away from them. _

_He is considered extremely dangerous because of his abilities as a Metamorphmagus, and it is unknown at present where he is. We urge anyone with information to contact the Ministry instantly._

Lily folded the paper. "He's escaped. This can't be good for any of us."

"What'chu mean?" asked Scorpius, his mouth full of food.

"We're the ones who caught him, you and I - well, and Rose, too, but you and I were the ones he dragged into the Forest. He probably wants to finish what he started. If it weren't for us, he might still be here hurting people, which was his ultimate goal. I can't believe that it isn't obvious to you." She was tempted to say something along the lines of 'are you really as dumb as you look?' but decided to save that for another time. Scarfing down some food, she grabbed Scorpius' arm. "Come on. We have to go tell Rose about the article. There's no way that she saw it."

He nodded. "She'll have her nose in a book." They twisted around in their seats to see Rose, sitting next to one of her dorm-mates. Both girls were reading textbooks. "See?"

"Ravenclaws," the two Slytherins said in harmony, shaking their heads.

Lily hurried ahead of her friend, reaching Rose's spot at the Ravenclaw table first. "Rose," she said urgently. "Up."

"What is it, Lily? I'm reading," Rose answered without even looking up from her textbook. "It's almost December, and I need to study. You don't know how difficult Arithmancy is."

"Nor do I want to," she replied. Why Scorpius, who hated studying with a passion, had taken Arithmancy was beyond her. Maybe so that he could take a class with Rose - Ravenclaws and Slytherins had only Herbology together, nothing else. With Arithmancy, though, so few people took it in N.E.W.T level that all four houses were combined. When Rose still didn't look up, Lily hissed, "This is _important, _Rose."

"Fine," Rose said, a bit of irritation in her tone. The older girl slid her textbook into her bag and hefted it over her shoulder as Lily led her out of the Great Hall, Scorpius following them. Once they were in the Entrance Hall, she said, "Really, you two. What is so important that you interrupt me from studying?"

"First of all, anything comes above studying," Scorpius replied, "and we haven't played a prank in over a month -"

"Shush, you," Lily said. "That isn't why we called you out here. Rose...Teddy's escaped the Ministry. He's free."

"What? That - why wasn't he in Azkaban?" was Rose's response.

"Because he hadn't had a trial yet. They couldn't just throw him in there. The trial proceedings were taking a long time, though, because my dad was putting up a bit of a fuss about the whole thing, and Andromeda Tonks wasn't being helpful either...not to mention, Victoire stormed in there and nearly got herself thrown in a cell for trying to help him escape. Our family's way too big, and with all the connections we've got, well, it didn't make things easy."

"It's been at least a month since he was caught, though!" Rose was outraged. "Just keeping him in one of those little cells, with one guard watching him...that is completely unsafe."

"No wonder he escaped," Scorpius said. "Of course, that makes things difficult for everyone now. He's got a wand, and he's on the loose. He'll probably try to finish what he started. Not that he could get into Hogwarts very easily, but still...there's ways around that."

"We'll have to be careful," Lily said. "But it looks like this whole thing...it isn't over yet."

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**I had to throw the title in there somewhere :P. Anyway, if you liked it, please REVIEW! There'll be more chapters coming soon enough.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. I'm just playing around with the characters.

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"I cannot believe that there's been nothing!" Lily flopped into the library seat across from Scorpius and Rose. They were all at their favorite table at the back, where there was little chance of being disturbed or overheard.

"Shh. Madam Turpin's going to come over if you get any louder," Rose said quietly. "I agree, though. It's odd there's been nothing - I mean, really, there's many ways to get revenge on the Battle of Hogwarts survivors, rather than just attacking their children at Hogwarts. Come to think about it, he's probably rethinking his plan. After all, if three school-age people caught him - all right, three school-age people who were snooping around, but nonetheless...he's probably trying to come up with some new ideas. He was caught too easily, here."

Scorpius nodded, glancing down at his book for a fraction of a second before jerking his head back up again. "Not to change the subject, but you know what I just realized?"

"What?" Lily asked.

"Your roommate - Astoria Nott - is Professor Daphne Greengrass' daughter."

"Thank you for that brilliant observation," Lily replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "You clued me in to so much right there."

"Sarcasm is unnecessary, Potter," he smirked. "Anyway, what I was thinking - how come Tori and Professor Greengrass have different last names? Shouldn't Professor Greengrass have taken the name of Nott?"

"Professor Greengrass divorced Theodore Nott and reclaimed her maiden name," Rose answered, trying to simultaneously read and talk. "Tori didn't want to change her name, though. Pretty simple, really."

"How was I supposed to know that? That's gossip - girly stuff."

"I don't recall you saying that when you ran to me saying you caught my brother and his girlfriend practically doing it," Lily's face held a smug expression. "Anyway, saving Scorpius' girly tendencies for another time - " she ignored his outraged "_Hey!_" -"what are we doing for Christmas holidays?"

"You're coming over my place," Scorpius said instantly. "Both of you. Since I refuse to go over there with James around, because I just know that he will hex me in my sleep, you two are staying with me. My mother already has said it's okay - she practically begged me to bring some friends home. I'm pretty sure she thinks I don't have any."

"Well - "

"Don't finish that, Lily Luna Potter."

Rose ignored their squabbling, speaking just loud enough for them to hear her over their voices, but not so loud that the librarian came over. "All right, so if we do come over, how on earth am I going to explain it to my father? You know he has a stupid grudge against your family - remember in first year he urged me to beat you in every test? Which I did, by the way, but that's completely irrelevant."

"Don't tell him," Lily said in a that's-so-obvious tone of voice. "Just say you're going home with a friend. Really, Rose, you've been our friend for how many years, and you still haven't picked up any of our Slytherin cunning? I'm ashamed of you - I thought Ravenclaws loved to learn."

"Fine," Rose said. "I guess not telling him who I'm going home with...I guess that's no worse than any of the other things you two have coerced me into doing over the years. Like, for instance, when we made everyone sing the Hogwarts song during the Sorting last year."

"The firsties were so confused," Scorpius said, grinning. "Oh, and McGonagall was so pissed off...worth it, though. I think the new headmistress will be a bit easier on us than Minnie was. Penny Clearwater seems nice."

"Do you need to nickname all the adults?" Rose sighed in mock-exasperation. "No respect, you two, no respect."

"How true that is." Lily grinned mischievously. "Speaking of no respect, look what I have." She hesitated. "Wait, not here."

"Lily, I'm trying to study-" The sixth-year girl knew she had no chance of continuing with her two friends around. If they wanted to play a prank...well, a prank was going to be played, no doubt. They wouldn't take no for an answer when it came to school versus fun. "Never mind. I really need to start studying in Ravenclaw Tower," she mumbled as an afterthought. Louder, she said, "So where are we going?"

"Some empty classroom," Lily replied, shrugging. "Come on, you two. I really want to show you what I have planned."

"Oh, Merlin." Rose gathered her books and shoved them into her bag. "Your plans usually end in detention for everyone. A lot of detention, more specifically." Nevertheless she followed the fourth-year girl to the nearest empty classroom. Scorpius, who entered last, shut the door behind him. "All right, what do you have?"

The youngest member of their trio reached into her book bag and pulled out a medium-sized box. The name 'Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes' was stamped on the side of it. She set it on one of the desks and opened it, pulling out a sealed container that was almost as big as the box it had come in. "It's a Portable Swamp," Lily said. "Courtesy of Uncle George. Well, courtesy of Roxanne, to be honest - she sort of took it without asking and gave it to me. She doesn't want to risk losing her Quidditch captainship by getting in too much trouble. And since we have the Cloak and the Map, we won't get caught."

"Where are we putting this?" Scorpius asked."

"The Great Hall."

"Someone will see us," Rose, the logical one in their little group, said.

"Unlikely. After all, nobody goes in there except for meals, and it's only four o'clock. No one's going to be in there for a while. This gives us time to set it up and get out of there before people start filing in. We should put it right in front of the doors, so that way everyone sees it. Maybe about a foot back, though - you really don't want to get any of that on your feet, it's rather disgusting and impossible to get off. Now, I've got the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map in my bag."

"Why?"

"Oh, I carry them everywhere," Lily said easily. "They are so useful. I do use it much more than James would have - that's why I stole it from him back in second year. And the Invisibility Cloak...that has proved so useful even in these couple months that I do not regret taking it from Dad at all. He's an adult - he can perform a decent Disillusionment Charm, which I can't. Yet. Scorpius, can you Vanish the box? We don't need that anymore."

"To be honest, I'm surprised you don't know how to do that yet," he mumbled, although he did Vanish it. Although Lily Luna's disdain for studying was legendary, she was talented at practical magic, topping her class in DADA, Transfiguration, and Charms despite barely scraping by for everything else. Rose was exactly the opposite, and Scorpius was somewhere in the middle.

"Let's go," Lily said, grabbing the Cloak from her bag and throwing it over them. It was cramped, but they still could fit under it. Had Lily Luna been taller and heavier, they probably couldn't have. It was only because she was barely five-three that they were still able to fit without being seen. She was holding the container of Portable Swamp, along with her book bag and Rose's, which also didn't help matters. They made it to the Great Hall without being seen, though, and were able to enter instantly since no one was around to see the doors opening.

Once inside, they took off the Cloak. Rose held their things, minus the swamp, while Scorpius watched the Marauder's Map to make sure no one was coming. Lily spread the swamp around the front, pouring the thick green liquid onto the floor. It didn't cover a whole lot of space at first, but slowly began to spread out and grow. The three students took that as their clue to leave, getting under the Invisibility Cloak again and heading out, back to their little table at the library.

"I can't wait to see everybody's reactions," Lily muttered once they sat down again.

"You can say that again."

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**Thanks for reading, everyone! J.K. Rowling owns all...I'm just a little fanfiction writer playing around with her lovely characters. Anyway, please review, and the next chapter should be up soon!**

**-lunalestrange4**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter. I don't. And is this really necessary on every damn chapter?

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Lily had been right in that they weren't caught for their Portable Swamp. It was discovered when the first wave of students attempted to enter the Great Hall. There was about thirty of them, and most of them were very similar in that they were the good students, the teacher's pets, and the ones who just showed up early for everything rather than risking being late. In other words, the people who would have the best reaction to the swamp. It wouldn't have been as fun for Lily and Scorpius if it had been people like them, the pranksters, who had seen it first. People raving about 'how awesome is this' wasn't the reaction they really wanted to see. They hid in the Entrance Hall under the Invisibility Cloak, while Rose joined the crowd of the early-to-dinner students.

"What the hell is that?" a seventh year Hufflepuff said loudly.

"Gross!"

"Ew, what _is _that?"

"Who would do such a thing?" That last one was Rose, and both Lily and Scorpius had to hurriedly stifle laughs. Luckily for them, they went unnoticed due to the commotion.

People had their theories. Through the month of December, which was a boring month for the trio, they amused themselves by listing the craziest theories that they had heard. They had nothing else to do - Lily had run through most of the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products that she had brought, and there was no new news on Teddy Lupin - and this was their way to stop the boredom. Although many students did indeed believe that Lily, Scorpius, and Rose had been behind it, the lack of proof made some people doubtful. Luna Scamander's twin sons, Lorcan and Lysander, had the wildest theories of everyone.

"Guess what?" Lily said, sliding into a seat next to Scorpius. It was the day before they were going to leave for Christmas holidays at Scorpius' home. Lily refused to think of it as Malfoy Manor. Way too imposing. "Lysander Scamander believes that the Portable Swamp was giant bogies, placed there by Minister Shacklebolt and Professor Clearwater, who are apparently co-conspirators in something known as the Asaldoos Corporation. I'm curious where he gets these things."

"His mother."

"Be nice. I love Aunt Luna."

"You have to admit she's a bit of a nutter," Scorpius said, plucking the Daily Prophet from the delivery owl and dropping a couple Knuts in its ankle pouch. "She seems pleasant enough, but she's certainly a nutter."

"That's my newspaper, first of all." Lily snatched it out of his grasp. "Second - Merlin!"

"What about him?"

"Scorpius Malfoy, can you take a single thing seriously?" Lily shoved the newspaper in his face. The headline read _HARRY POTTER ATTACKED. _"That is my father. Who was apparently attacked! Damn it, what now!" She stuck her nose in the article for about a half a second before glancing up at Scorpius again. "Go get Rose, please. She needs to hear about this."

Lily immersed herself in reading. The article was quite long - it seemed as if any article regarding Harry Potter was entitled to be twice the length of a normal, non-Potter one. She had to weed through lists of her father's achievements both in the Second Wizarding War and in the Auror division before finally reaching the important part - his attack. Apparently he had been attacked while investigating reports of a minor disturbance in Diagon Alley. The attacker was reported to be blond and male by witnesses, but nobody had gotten close enough to successfully identify him. Harry Potter was in St. Mungo's, recovering. Lily let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding as she read the final sentence, something about 'he will be fine and will be released within four days'.

Rose and Scorpius hurried over. "What happened?" Rose said instantly. "Scorpius just came running over and said that something's happened and you're reading the newspaper." Lily handed over the article. "Oh Merlin!" The sixth year scanned it quickly, apparently better at picking out the important bits. Maybe all that studying. "What are we going to do? I think maybe we should go home, our parents might want us there instead -" Her sentence was interrupted by Lily's owl, Artemis, flying in and dropping a letter right into the fourth-year Slytherin's lap.

"It's from Mum," Lily said. She tore open the envelope and rapidly skimmed the contents of the letter. "She says to go ahead and have fun at our friends' houses, and that goes for both of us, Rose. I guess she doesn't want the reporters to be all over us, too. You know they would be. We'll have a little more safety at Scorpius' house than our own. Not that either Mum or Aunt Hermione knows exactly where we're going, but still, it does make sense. We should visit my dad in hospital, though. If he's in St. Mungo's, it must be somewhat serious."

"I wonder if this has anything to do with the Teddy thing," Scorpius said. "It doesn't really sound like him, attacking one of the Battle survivors directly rather than one of their children. And attacking Harry Potter, a trained Auror..."

"It makes sense," Rose said quickly. "All of the Battle of Hogwarts survivors depend on Uncle Harry. He's a hero to them. He's the one who defeated Voldemort. If someone defeated him, the Wizarding world would be devastated. Not as much as individuals would be for their own children, yes, but every survivor knows Uncle Harry. It would affect all of them. He might have done this since he can't enter Hogwarts. We said he would be re-thinking his plan - well, we have to start re-thinking what we know, too. He's not going to be the same that he was here. He'll have a different plan."

"This is why you are a Ravenclaw," Lily muttered, secretly impressed. In a more audible tone she said, "You are pretty right. And then if we go visit Dad, then perhaps we can ask him a couple questions. We can't do too much since we're in school, but at least if we have a general idea of what this man looks like, well, if we see him anywhere we can do something about it."

"All right," Scorpius said. "We'll visit him...how about Christmas Day? My parents are no doubt going to one of their elite pureblood events, and, no offense, but I don't think that you'd be allowed to go." He rolled his eyes at Lily, who had swatted him. "It's good for us. We can sneak off to St. Mungo's - they would never know that we left the house if we use Floo. We'd get to St. Mungo's, see your dad, and come back within an hour or so. Since my parents will be away for several hours, we'll have time to spare. It's practically foolproof, and certainly much better than trying to convince my dad to go see his school nemesis."

"It's settled, then," Lily said.

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**Thanks for reading! Please review.**

**-Jess**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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"Does anyone actually know you're coming over my house?" Scorpius asked. The trio had gotten a compartment on the Hogwarts Express all to themselves, and had firmly shut the doors so that nobody else tried to enter. "Because it kind of seems like you're keeping it secret."

"Well, we are. After all, Uncle Ron would flip if he knew, and my dad wouldn't be that happy. This way we avoid the lectures." Lily nibbled on a Chocolate Frog. "I still can't believe we're actually going to Malfoy Manor. Isn't it enormous?"

"Yes, it's enormous," Scorpius replied. "But it's still a home. My mother really spruced the place up and made it a bit more welcoming. She can't wait to meet you two. I don't know whether she knows that you two are the reason that I'm in detention more often than not - especially you, Lily - but she probably has her suspicions. Not that Devon's a great influence, either." Devon Pucey, one of Scorpius' roommates, also was constantly in trouble, although he tended more to break the rules that said not to sneak off to the Astronomy Tower for romantic rendezvous.

"Oh yes," Lily said. "Personally, if I were a mother, I would rather have my son get detention for planning an incredibly brilliant prank that amuses over half the students rather than getting caught shagging a girl for the ninth time in two weeks. That's just me - oh, we're here!" The train had come to a stop, and Lily stood up, pulling her trunk down from the overhead compartment. "Remember, look only for Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. If we see our own parents, then things could get awkward. Oh, I wish Al had found a friend to go home with for once. James is going home with his girlfriend Caitlin, but Al's going home for Christmas." She glanced over at Rose, who had given up trying to pull her own suitcase down and had simply levitated it out instead. "I'm guessing Hugo is, too?"

"You know he'd never miss a chance to hang out with the adults. I swear, that boy is more Ravenclaw than I am, sometimes. He's much too interested in publishing his bloody book to have any fun. For the life of me I can't understand why he's a Hufflepuff."

"Probably begged the hat not to put him with you," Scorpius quipped, leading the two girls off the train. "Anyway, what book are you talking about?"

"Hugo's trying to write a book on the heroes of the Second Wizarding War. The main ones, that is. As in, everyone in our family, plus Professor Longbottom and Aunt Luna, and..." Lily paused. "Teddy's parents, I suppose, although I wonder if he's going to address the issue that their son turned out to be a murderous lunatic because of their deaths. Maybe it's the Black blood in him. It seems like most of that family went insane at some point."

"Yeah, no offense taken," Scorpius said. "Have you forgotten my grandmother's a Black?"

"Yes, well, her sister was insane. You can't deny the fact that your dead great-aunt Bellatrix was positively mad."

"Shut up, you two. We're in public, it's not the place to be discussing pureblood insanity." That comment earned Rose a glare from a passing couple, causing Lily and Scorpius to crack up laughing. "Will you two be quiet? Look, I see the Malfoys."

The three students pushed through the crowd to where Draco and Astoria Malfoy were standing. Draco was average height and lean, with receding blonde hair. His wife, Astoria, had soft brown hair that fell daintily around her face and light green eyes. "Hello," Astoria said. "I've heard a lot about you two from Scorpius. Lily and Rose, correct? Which one of you is which?"

"I'm Lily and that's Rose," Lily said, deciding at the last minute to add, "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy."

"And so polite!" Astoria exclaimed. Scorpius snorted, having seen the impolite side of Lily more often than not. Luckily for him, it went unnoticed by his mother. "We should get home, it's getting quite late. The house-elf should have supper on the table soon, but there should be a little bit of time for you to get settled. Draco, Side-Along with Scorpius, I'll get the girls. Have you two ever done it before?" They nodded, and she took each of their arms. "Then you should know it's not quite comfortable."

There was a feeling of being compressed as the Apparition happened, but just as quickly they popped into sight right outside the gates of Malfoy Manor. Draco and Scorpius were already there, and as the five people approached, the gates opened for them. The grounds, just like the house itself, were beautiful and expansive. The gardens were exquisitely tended, with colorful flowers providing bright bursts between the verdant hues of the leaves and grasses. Lily couldn't help but think how Professor Longbottom would enjoy it, before they all went inside.

"So this is what I call home," Scorpius said, waving a hand around the front room. "Welcome to Malfoy Manor."

"Scorpius, show Lily and Rose where they'll be staying," Astoria said. "Draco, come in the dining room. We need to talk." She pulled her reluctant husband into the kitchen as the teenagers headed upstairs. Both Lily and Scorpius levitated their trunks. Since they were in a house with two people who were allowed to use magic, the Trace wouldn't show up. Rose tried to be good and drag hers up the stairs, but after half of one flight she, too, relented. It wasn't the first time that Lily or Rose had used magic underage, although they had to be much more careful in their own houses, with so many people rushing in and out at all hours.

"My mother's lecturing my dad right now," Scorpius said, flicking his wand so his own trunk went soaring into the room that was farthest down the hall. "Telling him to be nice, and actually speak to you two. It's obvious that's what she's talking to him about. He hasn't said a word. I guess old grudges do die hard." He pushed open two doors that were side-by-side. "Lily, Rose, you can stay in here. These are two of the guest rooms."

"How many do you have?" Lily demanded.

"Seven."

"Seven guest rooms? Why on earth would anyone even need that?" Rose sent her trunk into her room, where it landed with a gentle thump on the thick carpet. Lily did the same, although hers ended up crashing into something.

"We are the Malfoys, you know - ow!" He rubbed his arm where Lily had hit him. "All right, you little -"

"Don't insult my height!" Lily drew herself up to her full five foot three inches.

Just as Scorpius was about to retaliate, a house-elf appeared right in front of them. "Tilly was told by Master Malfoy that Tilly had to let Young Master Malfoy and his guests know that supper was ready." The elf adjusted the light blue dishtowel she was wearing. "Mistress Malfoy and Master Malfoy want yous to come downstairs and eat."

"Okay." Scorpius led the others down the stairs and into a large dining room. The table was set with an array of fine foods that reminded Lily of Hogwarts. Astoria and Draco were already seated, the latter looking slightly abashed.

Supper wasn't a silent affair, to the shock of Lily and Rose. Astoria was a talkative woman, and she asked the three students questions about school, carefully avoiding the subject of Teddy Lupin. It wasn't exactly a secret that it had been the three of them who had figured out that Teddy had been behind the attacks on Hogwarts students; especially after they had gotten Special Awards for Services to the School, the reporters had jumped on the topic of the three students. It had died down recently, although it had experienced a brief flare-up again at his escape. Draco was relatively quiet, although he spoke a few times when Astoria prodded him to do so.

After supper, Scorpius asked, "Can we go play a bit of Quidditch outside? I want to show Lily and Rose my Nimbus 2014, and we have a couple of spare brooms in the shed."

"It's getting dark. Don't stay out too long," Astoria warned.

"All _right, _Mum," he replied. "Come on, let's go."

They trooped outside. Lily thought she glimpsed movement behind a tree, but dismissed it to the back of her mind.

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	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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The trio of Lily, Rose, and Scorpius headed into the Quidditch shed, where he handed the two girls each a broom. His was obviously the newest and best model, although the other two were certainly better than average. Since there were only three of them they decided just to toss a Quaffle around, and they were only about fifteen feet in the air when a figure jumped out from behind a tree. With a start Lily realized it was the same area where she had thought something had moved; her instinct had been right. She yanked out her wand, just in case, and so did the figure, who was in shadow. His face couldn't be seen as he yelled, "_Stupefy!"_

Lily narrowly dodged it, twisting her broom at the last second and returning a Stunning Spell of her own. She landed, as did the other two - if any of this person's spells hit, they wouldn't be as hurt if they were on the ground than if they fell from fifteen feet up. The person backed up slightly, but shot off another spell, this one wordlessly, causing the trio to separate and dive to avoid it. Scorpius tried a Furnunculus Hex, but that was blocked by the person with ease.

Then it was an official duel. The person shot off spells impossibly fast, and although the three students did their best to return them, they were still not a match for this adult. They hadn't been really trained in dueling - although the subject had been touched upon briefly, it was never discussed in depth. At that moment, they certainly wished it had been. They weaved in and out of one another, dodging and blocking more than returning. The person slowly moved, circling them, and quickly they saw the reasoning of this as the person grabbed the broom and hopped on, zooming away at top speed.

"That's my broom!" Scorpius yelled after the person. "That's the newest model, you -"

"I don't think that's our biggest concern," Rose said dryly. "We were just attacked, and you care about your Nimbus Two-thousand-something? I'm pretty sure that you could afford a new one, Mr. Moneybags. Lily, come here. You're bleeding."

"I am?" In the heat of the duel she hadn't noticed, although now that Rose had brought it up she could feel a stinging pain along her shoulder. She glanced down to see that her shirt was ripped, and a long, although shallow, cut could be seen. "Oh."

Rose waved her wand over the cut, muttering something, and the bleeding slowed but didn't stop. "I'm not that good. Let's go inside, maybe Mrs. Malfoy can fix it. Not to mention this should be reported to the Aurors. If somebody came onto private property and attacked three students, well, that's not something that can be ignored. They'll have to look into it. It may have something to do with Teddy Lupin, or Uncle Harry's attack. Which may be connected, we still don't know."

"I need to put my brooms away," Scorpius said. "Wouldn't want those to get stolen, too."

"Forget the bloody brooms! Do you really think that whoever attacked us is going to return just to steal some of the Malfoys' brooms? Besides, you've got hundreds of thousands of Galleons, does it really matter if you have to buy any more broomsticks?" Lily pulled on his arm. "If anything, he'll return for us, not for the brooms."

"Fine, fine." Scorpius relented and headed inside with the girls.

"Oh dear," Astoria said as soon as she saw Lily's cut shoulder. "What happened?" She moved her wand over it the same way that Rose had, although her attempt at healing actually worked.

"We were attacked," Rose replied. "Someone sneaked onto the grounds and started dueling us. We need to report this to the Aurors."

Astoria nodded. "By all means." She glanced at her watch. "We might as well go to the Ministry. They would probably send for you if I talked to them through the Floo, and it isn't particularly late. I just have to tell Draco that we're headed out. Scorpius, show the girls to the fireplace." She headed upstairs as Scorpius showed Lily and Rose to an adjacent room. It was an elegant sitting room, with a large fireplace that could fit three people inside. A bucket of Floo powder was right next to it.

"Get in," Scorpius said, grabbing a handful of powder. "We might as well all go at the same time." All three stepped into the fireplace as Scorpius threw the powder down, saying, "Ministry of Magic," loudly and clearly. The green flames rose up around the trio, depositing them in one of the Ministry's fireplaces in a jumble of arms and legs - the Ministry fireplaces were a bit smaller than the one from Malfoy Manor. They clambered out, dusting themselves off as Astoria came through a minute later, smoothing her hair.

Astoria seemed to know where to go; she led the three students to the Auror Offices, where a towheaded man named Stephen Cornfoot was on duty. He seemed wary at first, but as they explained the whole thing he eventually seemed to believe them, and assured them they would look into it. It was doubtful that they would be able to catch the man, as Lily, Rose, and Scorpius hadn't noted any defining features about him, but that didn't mean they couldn't try. They weren't in the Ministry long - not even an hour - and when they came back to Malfoy Manor the three students headed upstairs to Scorpius' room.

"Okay," Rose said. "When we go see Uncle Harry, it would probably be best if just Lily and I went in. We're still trying to avoid my father finding out that we're with you, Scorpius."

He nodded. "Fine. I'll poke around and see if anyone else was attacked suspiciously, there might be someone that we don't know about. Or someone who wasn't important enough to be in the Daily Prophet."

"So that's our plan?"

"That's our plan."

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	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. I'm just playing around with the characters.

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"The house-elves are all set to make supper," Astoria reminded Lily, Rose, and Scorpius. It was Christmas Day, and the two adult Malfoys were headed out to an event that Scorpius referred to simply as 'some snobby pureblood ball', leaving the three home alone, not counting the numerous house-elves who skulked around, unseen. "Stay inside - look at what happened last time. And please, I beg of you not to make a mess of the house." She looked at her son as she said this last part.

"It was one time!" Scorpius protested.

"What happened?" Lily asked.

"Scorpius decided to rearrange basically all the furniture with the house-elf's help, to see how quickly it would be noticed. I promise you, it was noticed."

"I was twelve!" Scorpius rolled his eyes at his parents. "Get out, will you two?"

"We'll be back around midnight," Draco Malfoy said brusquely, pulling the door open for himself and Astoria.

"Good riddance," Scorpius muttered.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Rose said, "What are we waiting for? Let's go to St. Mungo's before supper."

Lily shook her head. "Rosie, Rosie, Rosie. You have yet to learn the finer points of misbehaving. One such point is the ten-minute rule." Scorpius was nodding as she spoke. "The ten-minute rule basically says that if you're planning to do something you're not supposed to when you're home alone, wait ten minutes after the others leave. This guarantees that they definitely have left and haven't forgotten anything. What would happen if Mrs. Malfoy came back in here for her purse, and we were already gone?" She clucked her tongue. "That wouldn't be very good. After ten minutes, the chance that the others are returning is much less."

"Bloody Slytherins," Rose muttered under her breath.

Lily laughed merrily. "You need our cunning, Rose. You'd get in trouble without us."

"I wouldn't bother misbehaving if it weren't for you two!"

Scorpius smirked. "Yeah, you can believe that. I'm pretty sure it's a Weasley trait to not behave themselves."

"My cousin is Head Girl!" Rose argued, although she was struggling not to laugh. "Can you name one time that my cousin Molly misbehaved?"

"Yes, when she was caught snogging the Head Boy."

"You're insufferable," the Ravenclaw girl muttered.

"I know."

"Now that you two are done - " Lily rolled her eyes -"we really should look presentable. Scorpius, you should comb your hair. If you're going to be nosing around, you might not want to look like a schoolboy. You'll be seventeen in February, so you could pull off being of-age. You're certainly tall enough." She smoothed her own hair, although it wasn't as necessary for her. "You should say you're of age, anyway. I don't know if they'd let us in if they knew we were all underage."

"They wouldn't," Rose said. "They have a strict policy that at least one visitor must be of age. I think there were too many schoolkids running around trying to gawk at people's afflictions, and they created the rule. And since everyone basically knows that Lily and I are underage - curse the bloody Prophet! - it's up to you."

"Swearing a lot tonight, huh, Rose?" Lily grinned cheekily. "Never mind - Scorpius, comb your hair!"

"Fine, Mum." Scorpius darted off, hopefully to find a brush and run it through his hair. He did look much younger when it was messy.

Lily turned to Rose. "We're all set, then."

The older girl nodded. "I suppose we are. Wait, Lily, what are you doing?" Lily had just grabbed the Invisibility Cloak from her book bag and stuffed it into a smaller purse, than slung that over her shoulder. "Why are you bringing the Cloak?" Rose's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Lily Potter, you and Scorpius promised we were just going to St. Mungo's and coming directly back here, all by Floo..."

"We still are. Relax. It doesn't hurt to be prepared, though. After all, there is a murderous psychopath on the loose who might just be targeting the three of us." Lily ignored the slight pang in her chest at the thought of Teddy Lupin, who had been like a brother to her before he decided to start attempting to off people. He was now officially bad in her eyes.

"I highly doubt Teddy's going to show up at St. Mungo's - "

"He's a Metamorphmagus, Rose," Lily said as Scorpius returned, hair in place. "He could show up anywhere, in any male form. It's best to be safe."

"Ready?" Scorpius said. They went into the fireplace again and repeated the process that they had done yesterday, although this time, of course, Scorpius said, "St. Mungo's" instead of "Ministry of Magic."

They controlled their exit slightly better this time - after all, Scorpius was supposed to be at least seventeen - and, acting like they knew what they were doing, and were definitely supposed to be there, headed up to the desk. "We'd like to see Harry Potter," Scorpius said imperiously. "We heard that he was here."

The receptionist, who had to be at least seventy, peered closely at them. "Are you of age, young man?"

"Yes," he responded. "I'm here as an escort for my friends here, who are not of age but wish to see Mr. Potter. They are related to him."

"All right." The old woman nodded at them. "That'll be fourth floor. Ask someone for the room number once you're up there, I don't keep it down here because I don't want everyone overhearing and rushing up to his room. Go on up, though."

"We're in!" Scorpius muttered excitedly as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Shut it, you. You sound like we're breaking into something." Rose's voice was a bit louder, and caused a Healer scurrying down the opposite end of the hall to glance nervously in their direction for a second.

"And now you alerted everyone's suspicions," Lily hissed. "Come on, you two."

Thankfully, there was no incidents, and they got up to the fourth floor with no further incidents. Finding the room in which Harry Potter was kept wasn't that much more difficult - the young Healer on duty was willing to tell them, and Lily would have bet her house that the Healer had recognized Lily and possibly Rose from the Daily Prophet. At that point Scorpius split apart from them, and the two girls slipped inside the room.

He was laying in bed, although he didn't look particularly happy about that fact. He was awake, and looked surprised when the two girls entered. "Ginny told me that you two were both staying over friends' houses for the holidays...oh. Scorpius."

"What makes you think-"

"I'm an Auror, Lily." He smiled. "We have to be somewhat clever. And I know you couldn't have gotten in here without someone of age, or pretending to be of age. Which is where Scorpius comes in. He's the only friend you two have in common, if James is to be believed."

"Please don't tell my dad," Rose moaned. "I really don't want to deal with a bunch of anti-Malfoy rants."

"I understand - I am honestly surprised Hermione hasn't told him off already," he muttered as an afterthought. "Anyway, why are you girls here? You didn't have to take time away from your holidays to visit me. It's Christmas Day!"

"I was just wondering what happened to you," Lily said. The statement was a half-truth, and she knew it. He didn't, though. Hopefully. She doubted her dad would be thrilled that she, her cousin, and her friend were sort-of investigating Teddy Lupin, at least as best they could while they were still all at Hogwarts. Harry Potter seemed to have the mentality that he was the only one allowed to do risky, stupid, dangerous things. It was mildly annoying. "I saw the article, and...I guess I just wanted to hear it straight from you. You know how the Prophet can twist things around."

"They do," he admitted. "I was in Diagon Alley. Somebody Flooed in that there was a bit of a disturbance going on. According to him, there was a couple teenagers brawling in the street. I had to go check it out, because sometimes fighting leads to, well, something you could get imprisoned for. I looked around Diagon Alley once I got there, but I didn't see anything. I checked out some of the narrow areas between stores, but unfortunately, I was ambushed and attacked. Ruddy git Disarmed me when I wasn't even looking, and then proceeded to curse me. Thankfully somebody spotted me and was able to get me to this place relatively quickly."

"So do you have any leads on the bloke?" Rose asked, perhaps a little too quickly.

"Sort of," he replied. "I'm pretty sure I identified him correctly. The only thing is, it surprises me that he'd do such a thing."

"Who?" Lily asked eagerly, stepping closer.

"Draco Malfoy."

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**OMGWTF. I'm sure you're thinking that. So you should review. Because the ending of this chapter is definitely review material.**

-**lunalestrange4**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I think we've been through this enough. JK Rowling owns all.

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"I can't believe it," Scorpius said for what must have been the fifteenth time. He anxiously paced the room that they were in - Malfoy Manor's exquisite sitting room. Lily and Rose sat on opposite ends of the couch, both sprawled out but barely touching each other, which just went to show how large the couch was. "I can't believe that my father would do something like that."

"Will you stop?" Lily said, for what was also the fifteenth time. "It could be a mistake. It doesn't make sense for your dad to attack my dad over a stupid schoolboy grudge, and you know it. Besides, once he's questioned by the Aurors, they'll see his innocence. They are very careful not to imprison innocent people, especially after the Sirius Black fiasco back in the 90s. Everything will be fine." She adjusted her position on the large couch. "He'll be fine."

"I know they're careful," Scorpius snapped, "but the problem is that the family name isn't exactly pristine. After my dad's involvement in the Second Wizarding War, well, you've seen how a lot of adults look down on Malfoys. They would have looked down on me, too, if it weren't for Miss Famous over there - " he gestured to Lily "being friends with me. It's only because two of the Potter-Weasley clan are seen with me all over Hogwarts that I'm not the school outcast. And I can't imagine that the Aurors are going to put their full energy into finding somebody else when Draco Malfoy is sitting right in front of them, and no one will believe him when he says he didn't do it. Then they'll just put him in Azkaban."

"We could - " Lily started, but Rose interrupted her.

"Lily Luna Potter, we are not breaking into Azkaban in any way, shape, or form. Even with your Invisibility Cloak, and your irritatingly prodigious skill at magic - "Lily grinned at that "- three teenagers have no chance."

"That wasn't what I was going to say!" Lily argued, but her sulky posture said otherwise.

Despite his bad mood, Scorpius had to chuckle. "Lily, you're going to end up trying to break out of Azkaban at this rate, not into it."

"I will not be in prison!" The fourth-year glared fiercely.

"Uh-huh," Rose said sagely. "You will be. You will - " here she pretended to gaze into a crystal ball - "be put in Azkaban for causing all the teachers of Hogwarts to die from too much stress, caused by your constant prank-playing."

"You can really shut up now," Lily grumbled. "Besides, I'm going to be an Auror. My talent of sneaking around and gathering information that no one wants to reveal will finally be put to real use."

"James will love that," Rose said dryly. Lily's older brother James also wanted to be an Auror. "Can you imagine what will happen when you outshine him in basically everything, despite being three years younger and a girl?"

"It will be lovely," Lily replied. "He needs to be taken down a peg. Or three. Hmmm...speaking of that, I wonder what I could do to prank him."

"Dye his hair some obnoxious color," Scorpius suggested.

Rose sat bolt upright. "Merlin!"

"What?"

"I just figured it out! Draco Malfoy didn't attack Uncle Harry." Rose's words were coming frantically, all at once. "It was Teddy! He's a bloody Metamorphmagus - I don't know why we couldn't have guessed this before - and he would have changed his appearance so that he looks like Malfoy. It was just a play, worthy of a Slytherin to be honest. Attack Harry Potter, because that will make everybody nervous. But do it looking like Malfoy, so that way the blame will fall on him. You're kind of right about what you said before, Scorpius. If the Aurors have Draco Malfoy sitting in front of them, they won't put too much energy into finding somebody else! Then...then that will sully the Malfoy name even worse than it already is!"

"Excuse me?" Scorpius said.

"You know what I mean. It will push the Malfoys down even further, which wouldn't look good for you, or anyone who hangs around you - Lily and I," Rose continued, still speaking fast. "It will discredit the three of us, and if we come up with anything in this mystery, we'll look like people just trying to get attention. It will also make it easier for him to corner us, because we'd be alone more often. He was able to equal the three of us the other night, so he could probably finish us off if he really tried hard. It makes perfect sense, all of it. Teddy - he's cunning. I don't see how he was in Gryffindor during his Hogwarts years. He's a Slytherin through and through."

Lily decided not to be offended. "He probably asked the hat not to put him in Slytherin. That's what my dad did, because he thought Slytherin would make him evil. Teddy wouldn't have had that mentality, though. Andromeda Tonks was in Slytherin. He probably didn't want people to realize his Slytherin potential. You know how everyone assumes that Gryffindors are heroic do-gooders? Well, no one suspects anything bad out of them. It's probably why no one thought of him when the attacks actually took place at Hogwarts. He was a Gryffindor, how could he do something bad? If he really did have Slytherin cunning, he would have asked the Hat not to put him in that house to take any suspicion off of him when he did things later on in life. He had it all planned out, ever since he was eleven."

"Scary thought," Scorpius said. "but it does make a lot of sense."

"Yeah." Lily stretched out on the couch. "It does. The only problem is, what do we do about this? It's not like we can walk into the Ministry of Magic and say 'Oh, by the way, we unraveled this whole thing'. They would never believe us, and even if they did, catching a Metamorphmagus would be next to impossible. There's got to be another way to do this."

"Once we get back to Hogwarts," Rose said, "I have a plan."

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**Ending with cliffhangers is kind of fun. Review.**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Do I really have to do this?

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"No," Lily said. "Rose, no." She took a long sip from her butterbeer before glancing at her cousin and best friend. The three of them had just returned from Christmas at Malfoy Manor last week, and it was now the first Hogsmeade weekend after Christmas. Rose had revealed her plan to them on the walk there, and Lily hated it with a burning passion. "You are not going to be bait, Rose. If Teddy is following us...well, then we have to be careful. Not go splitting up in the hopes that he'll attack one of us in broad daylight." She rolled her eyes. "If we follow through with this idiotic plan, I'm the bait."

"You? You're a fourth year!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"Yes, and I'm also better at magic than both of you," Lily said coldly. "Scorpius, you don't pay attention in any class until a test is coming up and you have to cram information into your head. And Rose, you're much better at your books than the practical parts. I'm the one who should do it."

"Teddy's beaten you before, twice," Rose protested.

"I'm not saying that I could take him on!" Lily finished her butterbeer and set it down on the table with a resounding thump. "I'm saying I could last longer, long enough for you two to run and get somebody. If I could last a couple minutes, then that would be enough. I don't need to triumph over him. I know that would be ridiculous. He's an adult, and he's very talented. But you said yourself, Rose, that I had 'prodigious skill'. If I could just last long enough, then - "

"Lily, you can't risk yourself like that - "

"But you can?" Lily fixed her cousin with a fierce glare. "You know that out of the three of us, I would be the best if it came to an actual duel. Not just an exchange of a couple curses like on Malfoy Manor's grounds. I have top marks in Defense, for all four years, and well..." She lowered her voice. "You know of my midnight excursions to the Restricted Section to look up more advanced spells."

"And I don't particularly approve," Rose mumbled.

Scorpius looked back and forth between the girls. "I do think Lily's right." He ignored Rose's gasp of protest. "She is the most talented out of us. And if we do this extremely carefully, we should be fine. We split apart, but Rose and I sneak just far enough away where we can still see you. At the first sign of any trouble, Rose runs to get help. I stay just in case you need help immediately - like if you get Stunned or anything." He, too, finished his butterbeer. "Lily, be careful."

"You too," she said, looking between them. "It's important that we do this. Teddy can't be allowed to roam free." It was true; he was a danger to Wizarding society. Not as much as Voldemort - it would take a lot more to be at that level - but Teddy Lupin was certainly dangerous. His Metamorphmagus powers allowed him to roam free and virtually never get caught. If this plan, risky though it was, allowed him to be caught this time, and placed in a more secure facility...it was worth the risk. Even Scorpius and Lily, Slytherins, members of the house that was intent on self-preservation, could see that the risk was worth it.

"Okay." Rose set down her butterbeer. "We split up. But we have to be careful, and that means all of us. This is very dangerous, toying around like this. Anything could happen. And Lily, if he starts tossing around Unforgivables - "

"Then I'll get the hell out of there," the fourth-year responded impatiently. "I know. It's not worth getting killed. Now let's go!" She stood up. The Gryffindor part of her was coming through. The hat had debated about Gryffindor and Slytherin, and in the end it had been purely her desire to be different and rebellious, and to make waves in the Weasley-Potter family, that had tipped the scales toward Slytherin. There was definitely Gryffindor traits in Lily Luna Potter as well. Such as now - her impatience and general recklessness.

Lily headed out first, keeping her hand in her pocket, right next to her wand, just in case she did actually need it. The possibility that she would was large, and she knew it. This was different than her two other encounters with Teddy-the-disturbed-psycho. Both of those - the first one having been when she and Scorpius got caught rifling through the desk to try and find information, the second having been on the grounds of Malfoy Manor - had been a surprise. Completely unexpected. This was not. This was like...waving a bone in front of a dog and hoping he grabs it.

Trying to get the mental picture of Teddy as a dog and her as a bone out of her head, she headed up the street, determined not to look back. She knew Scorpius and Rose were following her somewhere, under the cover of Scorpius' Disillusionment Charm. She hoped that it had been strong enough to cover them, as he hadn't practiced as much as he should have, and he didn't have the natural talent that Lily did. Looking back, though, would be stupid. If the good guys were following you, and you were trying to act alone so the bad guy would come out...don't look for the good guys.

She stopped at Honeydukes and pretended to be interested in the window displays, while in reality checking to see if she could see anything in the reflection. She saw a shimmer across the street - that was obviously Scorpius and Rose. She turned her attention to a delicious-looking bar of chocolate, wondering if she should pop inside and buy it. She was tempted to, mainly because Rose's reaction once they got back to Hogwarts would be hilarious. She was in the middle of opening the door when she saw, in the reflection, the shimmer from across the street was slipping. Rose and Scorpius were coming back into view.

They were struggling with a man, whose Disillusionment Charm was much better than Scorpius' had been. He couldn't be seen at all, at least not in the light Lily was in, but it was obvious of his presence, due to the awkward moves Rose and Scorpius were making. Lily closed the door, starting to head toward the others. If Teddy - if this person was Teddy, of course - grabbed them long enough to Apparate away...that would be much more dangerous. But he wasn't trying to Apparate. He was hustling them toward the Shrieking Shack.

Lily took one last glance at them, and ran to find someone who could help.

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	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Lily ran up the street, looking in all directions for someone who could help. There were many students around, but she knew they wouldn't do any good. Even if there were any who were willing to help - which, knowing the reckless, danger-loving Gryffindors, there would be - it would be much better to have an adult. Someone who could match Teddy Lupin, and whose word would be much more credible than that of several students. She popped into the Three Broomsticks. There were usually adults there, people who chaperoned the trips just in case anything happened. Like this.

She saw Luna Scamander sitting across from the Potions Mistress, Morag MacDougal. "Please! Come quick, Rose and Scorpius are in trouble!" She was breathing heavily from her sprint up the street, and she tried to control it. "I-I think that they're in the Shrieking Shack. Some man came up to them and started pulling them in that direction! Please, come on..."

"Are you sure?" Although Professor MacDougal stood up, as did Luna, the former narrowed her eyes suspiciously, knowing of Lily's troublemaking reputation.

"I believe Lily," Aunt Luna said mildly. "Shall we go?"

"All right."

The two women and Lily hurried out the door of the Three Broomsticks and up the street toward the Shrieking Shack. As the house came into view Lily saw the door slam shut. _Good, _she thought. _Perhaps Rose and Scorpius were just brought in. Hopefully they can stall him long enough for us to reach it. _She increased her pace, ignoring the fact that she was pulling ahead of the professors. If the two students inside the Shack could just hold off Teddy for a short while, then they would be safe. Then all of this really would be over. He would be brought to justice, and it would be safe again. Of course, there would always be Dark wizards in the world, but they would be safe, at least, from this particular threat.

As they got closer, they all drew their wands, having the same idea. The two professors pulled ahead of Lily, making sure they stayed in front of her. It was, technically, the teachers' job to protect the students, rather than the other way around. The three of them crept toward the Shrieking Shack. It was odd for Lily to see Luna like this. For once, the blonde woman looked completely serious and lucid, rather than her usual vacant, dreamy expression. Snapping out of her thoughts, Lily noticed she had fallen behind. She darted forward so that she was just a step behind the women, just as Professor MacDougal blew the door off its hinges.

The three of them hurried through. Rose was half-tied to a chair, Scorpius unconscious next to her. Lily hurried over to them as the teachers dueled with Teddy. She untied Rose as Luna Stunned Teddy and Professor MacDougal tied him up with _Incarcerous; _Scorpius then slowly opened his eyes, pushing himself up groggily. "Lily?"

"Yeah." She glanced back at Teddy's unconscious, rope-bound form. Now that she was closer to him, she could see the slight resemblance to the Teddy that she had known. Something about his face shape, or his features, was similar. It wasn't instantly recognizable, but for someone who had known him well, it was noticeable. "It's really over. He'll get a trial quickly, now...since after they delayed it too much last time, he escaped. Plus Victoire can't stir things up, either. She got a fine for disturbing the peace at the Ministry." Scorpius grinned at that.

"Which," Rose muttered, "is going to happen to you two one day. Disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, restraining orders...I don't know what's going to happen to you two."

"Yeah, but you love us," Lily said, pulling Scorpius to his feet. "You know you love us."

"It gets me into trouble - lots of it - but I do."

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"Is it true," Mina Francis asked, "that you took on Teddy Lupin singlehandedly?"

"That's ridiculous," Tori Nott scoffed. "She gathered twenty-five students and they all charged his hideout in the Shrieking Shack."

"He wasn't hiding out in the Shrieking Shack." Daisy Zabini rolled her chocolate-brown eyes. "He was hiding out in the Forbidden Forest."

Lily rubbed her head in an exasperated manner. "I have no idea where he was hiding. And I didn't take him on singlehandedly or raise an army of students. Rose and Scorpius were in trouble, so I got Professors Scamander and MacDougal, and we went to the Shrieking Shack. It's no way near as glamorous as the rumors say."

"I heard," said a fifth year from further down the Slytherin table, "that you and Scorpius shared a passionate kiss over Teddy Lupin's unconscious body, while Rose glared at you two because she was jealous."

"Also untrue." Lily sighed. "Basically, none of the rumors are true. Except for the one that I'm going to get chewed out when I go home for Easter holidays. My parents are so pissed off. Beyond pissed off. Somehow they got wind of how I was going to be bait to draw Teddy out...and they're very mad that I was going to risk myself like that. I think it was Rose. Either that or somebody overheard us in the Three Broomsticks. But everyone knows Rose can't keep lies straight under pressure."

"Are you explaining how ridiculous the rumors are?" Scorpius slid into a seat next to Lily.

"Trying to."

"You know what else is ridiculous?" Scorpius loaded his plate with food. "How we aren't getting more Special Awards for Services to the School. I mean, we did the whole Wizarding world a service...for that matter, I think we should get Orders of Merlin - "

"We aren't getting Special Awards for Services to the School because first of all, we already did, and second of all, Teddy wasn't even posing a threat to the school. And Orders of Merlin, for sort-of catching one Dark wizard? That's ridiculous. I'm pretty sure that if that were the case, all the Aurors would have dozens of them. We aren't getting anything."

"Very unfortunate, don't you think?"

"Shut up, Scorpius."

"Aw, you know you love me."

"I love when you've stuffed your mouth so full of food that you can't say anything," Lily retorted.

"I'm wounded!" Scorpius mock-gasped.

"You will be in a second," she muttered.

"I'm just so glad this whole thing is finally over," Daisy said. "This thing with Lupin...it's gone on way too long. Remember how scared everyone was, when he was attacking the students? Including me? It's just nice that he's locked up and Hogwarts is safe again."

"It is nice," Lily said. "It's finally over."

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